The Union is the new Netflix original spy thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. According to the review-tracking website Metacritic, with a score of 44 out of 100, it is not that interesting — and we can attest to the fact that it is not.

Sandwiched between the utmost of predictability, plot-wise, and pedestrian play-acting, the film is a travel brochure. The premise scuttles unassuming nice-guy Mike (Wahlberg, also one of the producers) from New Jersey to London and Piran in Slovenia, as he gets recruited by high-school girlfriend turned super-secret-agent Roxanne (Berry), whose specialist unit ‘The Union’ (led by J.K. Simmons) tries to recover from a botched operation in Trieste.

The ragtag group also includes actors Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Heavy Duty from G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Killer Crock from Suicide Squad), Alice Lee (the voice of Lois Lane from the hit animated show My Adventures with Superman), Mike Colter (Luke Cage from Luke Cage) and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach from Watchmen and Freddy Kruger from the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street), in wasted supporting roles.

The reason for Mike’s inclusion in the team is as fickle as the story. Roxanne suddenly arrives in a pub that Mike frequents, takes him out for a walk, and drugs him.

The Union is not bad, it’s just mediocre at best

The recruitment baffles Mike, a construction worker, who has been living a good, content life with his mum (Lorraine Bracco who seems to know everything), hanging out with pals and indulging in one-night stands with his seventh grade school teacher.

Written by Joe Barton (Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer-starrer Encounter) and David Guggenheim (Safe House, Stolen), the film is directed by Julian Farino, primarily a television director from the UK, who doesn’t elicit worthwhile performances from his actors.

The going logic that one can surmise is that things are being left loose and flippant because the tone of the film is unserious. That, by the way, is no excuse, but then again, a streaming service — perhaps even the world — needs frivolous, flippant content to hoard our bandwidth and, perhaps, relax our brains.

Walhberg is okay as an actor, despite bringing nothing new in the acting department. Berry is still beautiful, but her commitment to the role is superficial; her action training is pathetic and her expressions and reactions during those action moments are just plain bad.

As a personal preference, I like movies that are really, really bad, or somewhere in the good ranges. Mediocre films are just that: mediocre and forgettable, and deliberately hitting that mark — making a film just for the sake of making a film — is a waste of time and resources. Why spend that amount of money and time to make something that is destined for oblivion from the day its concept popped up in someone’s imagination?

The Union is that film. It’s not bad, and one can easily watch it while scrolling away their socials on their phones. The half-divided attention may not be the best way to watch a film, but chances are, that’s how most of the world will watch this one, and then say: meh!

Streaming on Netflix, The Union is rated PG-13 and is deemed suitable for ages 13 and over

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 25th, 2024